Prove it Dance for me
by open hearts catch dreams
Summary: Second attempt. Change to plot this time just before Brit ambushes Joey during his break. Mary wants to practice a new dance routine but she needs the zune back to upload it. Guess who she has to talk to? Ideas welcome, I want to write more plot changes


AN: Okay, this is the other story I've been working on. Just had a chance to upload it!

Again, tips on writing the characters would be appreciated.

I'm hoping to get this movie for Christmas so that I can watch it on repeat and find other fiction opportunities, so this is it until then

* * *

"Joey?"

He looked up, feeling as hopeless as ever, but felt a faint smile spring to his face as he recognised Mary as the person who had called him.

"Mary, right?"

She nodded, "With the, uh…shrimp."

He smiled, "How are you?"

She took a deep breath, and for the first time Joey realised she seemed nervous. He wasn't so conceited as to think it was just talking to him, so that led him to assume something was wrong.

"Are you okay?" he continued, before she could answer.

"I- yes," she replied, taking a deep breath. "Um, I know you're on a break…but I kinda need my Zune for something."

Joey started. He felt the small gadget burn into his palm as though her subtle claim had triggered a response and Mary seemed to close up even more. There were faint glimmers of recognition, Joey noted, every time he saw her, but he had simply been too surrounded by the girls jockeying for his attention he hadn't had breathing space to know the others.

This one girl, who on the two occasions he had crashed into literally, had stolen the room she was in for him.

He found himself wanting it to be her.

But he quickly repressed the burst of hope. If he let it blossom in his chest, it would be that much more painful when she turned out to just be trying it for kicks.

Sure, he didn't actually think this girl was like that, but he knew she worked for Domifreak, and that woman would put anyone up to anything, if she could manipulate them enough.

His contemplation was over in seconds and Mary was still standing in front of him, fingers toying with the sash of her bag and shielding her eyes with her thick, dark hair.

"Okay," he answered, leaning back on the desk again. "What are the four songs?"

Mary opened her mouth, but the shriek that pierced Joey's ears belonged to someone else.

Brit skidded up to them, mouth gaping and eyes bulging comically as she placed herself in front of the dark haired girl.

"Your prayers have been answered," she rasped. "I'm _the one_."

Joey didn't need to look at Dustin to know he was wearing the gagging expression of trying not to laugh. Joey bit his tongue but could not hold back a sceptical snort.

"I know the songs. I'm her!" Brit insisted, and Joey managed to see Mary's fleeting frown, before she smoothed her face into a perfect blank expression.

Dustin stepped forward, sounding like he'd managed to swallow his laughter, "Um, actually, we were just going to hear someone else…"

"NO!" Brit screeched. "It's not like *she's* the one. Listen, I know them all."

Joey tried to look around the taller girl, but Mary seemed to be using her to stay out of sight and Brit took the silence as her opportunity.

She reeled off all the songs at lightning velocity, but each name was clearly audible.

Joey felt himself reeling, almost horrified at the look of crazed triumph that sprang into Brit's eyes.

"I'm right, aren't I? I'm right!"

Joey shook his head, rubbing his eyes and trying to think of a way she could know if the zune was not hers.

Brit was past the concerns, "What are you waiting for? Kiss me!"

She launched forward, and Joey regained enough presence of mind to leap around the table. He barely caught a halfway bemused and irritated look flit across Mary's face before Brit stalled herself, arms still outstretched.

"I got them right! What's wrong?"

"You got the songs, but we're gonna dance first."

"Dance?" Brit visibly faltered, eyes flashing in abject horror and Joey knew he had her. Meanwhile, he realised Mary's eyes had flown to his, before sliding around the perimeter of the room.

He subtly followed her gaze in the second pause and noted their conversation had dragged so that only a few students were still hung around the edges.

Brit was blustering, and Dustin was trying to rein in a smirk.

"Well, I mean, you said we only had to know the songs and I'm not warmed up, and there's…no music!"

Joey found himself speaking to a Mary who was now avoiding his eyes, "If you really were her, you wouldn't need music."

Brit hesitated a moment too long and Mary's bag fell to the floor, the loudest thing Joey had heard since she turned up, regardless of the slightly insane ramblings of the other girl.

She swept to the open space away from the desk, keeping her eyes trained on the floor and Brit grabbed her arm.

"You don't want to do that," she hissed in warning, eyes popping in ferocity.

Joey frowned, able to clearly hear the words, and became sure he was missing something.

Mary tugged herself free, muttering, "I need it back."

He could have sworn he also heard 'don't be disappointed' as she cocked a hip and draped an arm behind her head.

Her eyes closed, and her foot tapped the floor softly as she found a beat in her head. Brit scowled, fists clenching.

And then the dark-haired girl was moving. She twirled and shifted rhythmically, eyes closed and lips faintly counting as her hair flew around her. She levelled her arms and crossed over her steps, using the footwork to move her across the floor. Fingers against her cheek forced her head to snap to the side and back in a move he recognised and then she spun, pirouetting on a single leg, jumping free dancing back the direction she had come.

She counted more beats, unaware of Joey's brilliant smile, and dropped to the floor in the splits.

The next instant, her eyes snapped open, legs curled underneath her and she had pushed herself to her feet, all with enough grace that she might still have been in the steps of a dance.

Brit growled through her braces, "You are going to regret that, Mary. For a very long time."

Joey frowned as he looked back at her, and was surprised to see that she looked as though she agreed. Her eyes were glassy with tears, shoulders hunched in defeat and the radiant glow that seemed to shimmer from her when dancing had dissolved into nothing when she had returned to the present.

Brit stormed out of the area and Mary hurried to gather her bag. She faced Joey reluctantly, still avoiding his eyes.

"Um…if I pass, can I have it back?"

Joey held it out, clasping her hand when it curled around the small device.

"You are an amazing dancer. Why didn't you tell me it was you?"

Mary half smiled.

"Many reasons," she muttered, snatching her hand back.

"Give me one," Joey pressed, noting Dustin slip off in his peripheral vision.

Mary drew a deep breath.

"Because I thought if you knew the face, and the person behind the dancer you'd be disappointed."

Joey smiled disarmingly, "In case the queues didn't get through to you, I've been going crazy looking for you. If I just wanted to dance with a faceless person again, I'd have held a ball. Next."

Mary managed a full smile, "My step-sisters told me they'd put an embarrassing video of me on the internet for you to find if I ever told you it was me."

Joey contemplated this one. He assumed that was what Brit's comment had been about.

"When you say embarrassing…"

"I mean embarrassing," Mary interrupted, finally coming to her senses and turning away, making a break for the door.

"Hey, hey, hey," Joey ran ahead of her, manoeuvring himself between her outstretched arm and the door. He caught her wrist and rubbed his thumb over the pulse point as he brought his other hand up to her waist, slow enough that she could see his intent.

She allowed herself to be steered back, body automatically conforming to the steps he presented her. She rejected the embrace a moment later when she realised what had happened.

"Would you tell me?" Joey probed softly. "I promise not to laugh."

He could see her battling herself for a moment, dark eyes conflicted, and then she nodded.

"I was eleven. I recorded a video of myself dancing that I was going to send in to prove I was a number one fan. I think you'd just gone into the world, you were only about twelve. That is all I'm saying."

"Its all you need to say," Joey assured. "I love your dancing. Eleven just makes it adorable as opposed to…anyway, its invalid. What was your next excuse? Or did you just like seeing me squirm?"

Mary chuckled, "No…it's just that I don't dance here. Nowhere around school actually. Dominique won't pay for classes and only Tami knows about the whole thing. If I told you it was me, everyone else would know, and then they know about my dancing by default."

"That's not a bad thing. You were born to dance," Joey told her seriously. "No one else's opinion matters. And about those classes, maybe I could give you a couple?"

Mary half laughed in remembrance.

"Actually, while we're having a truth moment, I've already learned from you once."

"At the dance, not exactly a truth," Joey smiled.

"Twice, then," Mary amended. "You taught a dance class and I…spied, I guess you could say."

"Spied in a " _closed room_ trailed off unsaid, as he realised just what he'd been dancing in front of "- …behind the mirror. You danced behind the mirror. You could see me."

Mary nodded, a wry smile tugging at her lips because of her next words, "I 'mirrored' your movements, went through the steps. So that was another routine you taught me."

"I'm going to have to catch you there one day," Joey promised. "Watch you dance on your own again… I thought I recognised some of what you did a minute ago."

"You did," Mary agreed. "Um, I'm sorry, but I really have to go, now."

"Can I take you out, sometime? Soon?"

"Uh…I- I don't know." She was conflicted again for reasons beyond his fathoming, but her eyes were in agreement even if her frown spoke the opposite.

"I'll keep asking until it's a yes."

Mary smiled automatically, "Okay. Okay, I will. I just don't know when."

"Doesn't matter," Joey assured, thinking to check the clock. "I got a yes, so it'll happen. I'm gonna let you go now."

"Right," Mary answered. "Thanks."

Joey nodded and she gave him a last smile before shooting through the door and out of sight.

* * *

AN: I am aware that I have a thing for getting Mary to dance (in front of people) I guess I subconsciously resented that the character has such potential but no one saw it until the end. I also liked that period of the movie when Mary knew who she danced with but Joey was going crazy because he didn't

Not sure about the end. Just somehow didn't work as well as I wanted, but I was typing at around one in the morning...

If anyone has any ideas they would like me to have a go at writing, review or message and I'll try and have a go if I think I can do it justice (I love the characters and their dynamic but I can't think up enough situations having only watched it once or twice)


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